Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1887-01-14
A REFORMED BURGLAR.



How the Chang, was Brought About-A
Good Kesolution-Thc Result.
On my discharge from rison found
the way open TO me for fresh offenses
even greater than the one | had COM
mittcd. My father had died Willie | was
still in prison. and my mother had mar
ried again. | found my former prison
associate waiting for me i'll n large city.
We formed a partnership in crime which
lasted nearly seven years. during which
we perpetrated over fifty burglaries. II
none of these were we detected. though
several times we had narrow escapes, and
| was once arrested charged with an
offense with which ! had no connection
Fortunately for me, the real criminal. a
man of whom had no knowledge. was
discovered. and l was discharged from
custody. Why, then. did cease being
burglar and become an honest mani l
had been more than ordinarily successful
in my criminal career, and had. save in
my first crime. committed when was a
novice in the business, escaped all punish
ment for my violations of law. This is
how the change came about One night
as | sat in my well furnished room read
ing the last number of a popular maya
zine. something that | perilsed set me to
thinking. 1t was a story in which oc-
CURED the expression that in the long run
a man. other things being equal could
make more by honest than 10y dishonest
work. | stopped reading and endeavorcd
to call to mind the amount of my gains.
| had no trouble in doing so. being as
sisted by full notes that ! had kept in
cipher of my own designing.
| had never fully contemplated the
matter before. but now. with pen and
paper, put the whole subject before my
eyes. Not counting my first burglary, 1
found that my share of all the others
amounted to the sum of about $21 900,
or nearly $4,000 a year. At that mo-
ment | had as the entire profits of my
profession, the sum of 1910 in cash. to-
gether with fair stock of clothes and a
watch that | had bought. for was too
shrewd to wear one that had stolen.
was not addicted to drinking. gambling,
or other of what l may call small vices,
but my expenses in travelling, in eluding
detections and in feeling certain officers of
the law had been heavy, so that l had
never been able to do much more than
neither luxurious as regarded the body
nor comfortable so far as the mind was
concerned. / was always unsettled and
constantly in fear of arrest was
never sure at night when | went to bed
that | should not before morning be in
irons and on my way to prison. Besides
all this. | had had a great deal of hard
physical labor to perform. and was often
obliged 10 spend hours in all sorts of
cramped and otherwise uncomfortable
positions.
Three thousand dollars q year. That
was all. ! knew that had the ability
to make much more than that sum at
honest work if | could only get the
honest work to do. and that too. with
out such wear and tear of mind as | had
endured for seven years, to say nothing
of my term of Imprisonment
That night my resolution was taken,
and the next morning l was on my way
to remote part of the country under tho
name that | now bear. With my 5000
and $50 more that obtained from the
sale of my watch bought small bust
ness that was for sale, and became a
citizen of thriving town. Reading in
ddced reflection. and better principles
were developed i'll me. and little by little
the idea dawned upon me that it was my
duty to make restitution. and began to
save money with that object in view.
cannot, without danger of revealing
my identity, give any further particulars
of my life. Suffice it to say that | am
now nearly 60 years of age that l have
restored over $4,000 of stolen money,
. / al. Il
ready to give it back as soon as | can
find the lawful owners. | have retired
from business of my own. but | hold a
responsible position in first-class estab-
lishment with salary of over 1000 a
year, and am, believe. respected by all
who know me. -New York Star.